Beyond the Ban to Secure the Future of Shahtoosh Workers

New Delhi , November 16, 2003 : In a unique door-to-door survey done with over 45,000 people in the Kashmir valley, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), have compiled a complete list of the ban-hit Shahtoosh workers and suggested that they may find succor in a recently notified Indian patents legislation.

The survey titled Beyond the Ban: A Census of Shahtoosh Workers in Jammu & Kashmir , has strongly recommended that an appellation of origin for the unique weaving skills of the artisans of Kashmir valley be created, which will help them produce an exclusive handcrafted product that will command higher prices and at the same time provide employment to all segments of Shahtoosh workers hit by the ban. It also found that Shahtoosh shawls are still being woven in the Kashmir valley, despite the national and international ban on its production and sale.

The shahtoosh report team with Dr. George Schaller From left to right : Dr Ravindran Gopinath, Riyaz Ahmad, and Aniruddha Mookerjee

The new legislation being referred to is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into force on September 15, 2003 .  As a part of this exercise, a Geographical Indications Registry has been set up in Chennai and this Act introduces for the first time in India , registration and better protection of geographical indications in relation to products.

The survey, which conducted structured interviews with at least 45,000 people for over a year, revealed that a maximum of 15,000 people were involved in the Shahtoosh production process, with the largest segment being women. The report was handed over to Ms Tinoo Joshi, Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles and Mr Rajesh Gopal, Director Project Tiger, representing the Ministry of Environment and Forests, for action and implementation by none other than Dr George Schaller, who discovered the link between Shahtoosh and the Tibetan antelope ( Pantholops hodgsoni ) more than a decade ago.

Accepting the report, Ms Joshi said: "I am happy that the government and your report are thinking on the same lines and I am sure we will be able to move this ahead."

Dr. Schaller presenting the report to Ms Tinoo Joshi, Development Commissioner for Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles.

"If the chiru (Tibetan antelope, Pantholops hodgsoni ) is to be saved, we need to provide viable alternatives to those involved in producing the shahtoosh shawl and this report suggests just that," Dr Schaller said. " Any action of this nature needs a strong political will and I would appeal to the Indian Prime Minister as well as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to take this issue seriously not only to help the people, but also to save a beautiful animal that is slaughtered outside its boundaries, for illegal use in India . It is equally important that India , Nepal and China strictly enforce their laws in coordination so that it acts as a strong deterrent to those involved in the poaching and the trade," he added.

Dr Schaller praised WTI's efforts against Shahtoosh and donated half the prize money awarded to him at the Salim Ali International Conservation Award towards WTI's conservation efforts at the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society's centenary celebrations last week.

Jointly produced by the Wildlife Trust of India and its international partner, IFAW, with the support of the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, Beyond the Ban found that 93% of shahtoosh workers were concentrated in and around downtown Srinagar . Also that 74 per cent of those surveyed were women confined to two initial stages of production - separation of Shahtoosh from the raw material and spinning. The report, which documents the entire production process in detail, pointed out strong gender disparities, where even though women dominated in numbers, the men controlled the more lucrative aspects of the process.

Mr Rajesh Gopal, Director, Project Tiger, accepting the report from Dr Schaller

"The shahtoosh production process has not evolved beyond a primitive putting out system," Dr Ravindran Gopinath of the London School of Economics, who analysed the data, said. "It is still a cottage industry with a distinct, and possibly, a unique division of labour, due to which the ban has left stages like the separators and the spinners, the worst hit. More so because mechanisation of pashmina production has left them with no alternatives to fall back on in any modern production process," he added.

Beyond the Ban has, therefore, recommended that workers stick to their traditional skills and focus it on pashmina, which is sold the world over as Kashmir or Cashmere pashmina. "However, the quality of a handcrafted pashmina shawl produced in Kashmir , is far superior to any machine-made or partially handcrafted product made anywhere else in the world and strangely enough sold as Kashmir pashmina. We would therefore like to patent the skills of this origin and ensure that it is used for the good of both ex-shahtoosh and pashmina workers of the valley," Aniruddha Mookerjee, who directed the concept and the report, said.

The report has suggested that this patent be called Kashmina to mean Kashmir Pashmina and an appellation body be created in Kashmir with representation from the government, producers, traders and NGOs which will monitor this process. "We are already in the process of registering this patent and at a suitable time will present it to the people of Kashmir ," he added. The survey found that 55 per cent of the shahtoosh workers have already shifted to Pashmina.

WTI and IFAW have been leading the campaign against shahtoosh in India , China and the western markets for the last five years. Their earlier report Wrap Up the Trade, released in 2001, had documented the extent of the trade, poaching and the effectiveness of enforcement mechanism and the campaign.

For a copy of the report write to:

WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA
A-220, New Friends Colony,
New Delhi - 110065

Phone: +91-11-26326025 / 6
Fax : +91-11-26326027